Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Lawyer gets more time to appeal donation case
A state judge granted local attorney Edward Chun a 30-day extension yesterday to appeal his 10-day jail sentence for orchestrating illegal political donations to Mayor Jeremy Harris.Circuit Judge Steven Alm also gave the 72-year-old Chun until Jan. 26 to seek a stay of a Dec. 1 sentence for pleading guilty to misdemeanor campaign finance violations.
Chun had until yesterday to file an appeal and ask for a stay of his sentence. But Chun's attorney Dale Lee said his client should have 30 days to file an appeal once the court enters its findings of facts and conclusion of law. Alm's findings were filed Wednesday, Lee said.
Lee said the extra time is needed because of the difficulty in obtaining records of similar campaign spending cases in state District Court.
As part of the appeal, Lee said he wants to show that there is a disparity between his client's sentence and others administered in District Court. While Chun received jail time, others sentenced in District Court avoided prison and were granted deferrals after entering no-contest pleas to similar charges.
4,000-foot hole yields bacteria on Big Island
CORVALLIS, Ore. >> Researchers have found bacteria in a hole drilled more than 4,000 feet in volcanic rock on the Big Island, an environment they say reflects conditions on Mars and other planets.If microorganisms can exist in such conditions on Earth, they could conceivably be living below the surface on Mars as well, said Martin Fisk, a professor in the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University.
The study was funded by NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology and OSU. The results were published in the December issue of the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics and Geosystems.
The study is important, researchers say, because it provides scientists with another theory about where life may be found on other planets.
Fire Department wins $748,000 federal grant
The Honolulu Fire Department has been awarded $748,979 under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, officials said yesterday.Grant money is earmarked for programs that increase the effectiveness of firefighting operations, health and safety programs, new equipment, emergency medical service programs and prevention and safety programs.
The Fire Department plans to use the funds to buy a Fireflash trailer -- a mobile, propane-fired, two-story trailer that will help train firefighters in structural fire settings.
As a requirement for receiving the grants, local governments are required to match the total award up to 30 percent, the Fire Department said in a news release.
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[Taking Notice]
Foundation announces first John Kelly awards
The Oahu Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has announced the first John Kelly Environmental Achievement Awards to recognize people who have made contributions to protecting or enhancing the coastal environment.There are three categories of the award:
>> Lifetime Achievement: John Kelly is the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement category, which has been named in his honor. For decades, Kelly has been involved in many ocean- and beach-related environmental crusades on Oahu, primarily through the Save Our Surf Foundation, which he founded.
>> Professional Surfer: Rob Machado has been active with the San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, contributing time and money to many causes related to the environment.
>> Oahu-based Company: Patagonia in Haleiwa was recognized for its dedication to protecting the environment, including its role in starting the Oahu chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.
AWARDS
>> Jeanne McLaughlin, a teacher at Kaimuki Christian School in Honolulu, won the National Council of Teachers of English Leadership Development Award. She was awarded $500 to attend the NCTE annual convention in San Francisco last month.>> The Pacific Fellowship Committee has awarded $4,000 grants to Katalina McGlone, Christine M. Su and Masami Tsujita; $3,000 to Michelle Taupau; and $1,000 to Anna Naupa and Robin Tatu. The Ruth E. Black Scholarship Award, worth $1,000, was given to Shelley Awaya, Lisa Mina Kuhiman, Chandra K.N. Morikawa, Christina M. Ortiz and Tammy Young. Patricia Quiason was awarded the $1,000 Beardsmore Anderson Art Scholarship.
"Taking Notice" runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Please send items to City Desk, Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana, Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHONOLULU
Man arrested in kitchen-knife attacks
Police arrested a 30-year-old man yesterday for allegedly stabbing a Pearl City woman and three members of her family who tried to stop him.Police said the suspect went to the 32-year-old woman's home on Hoomalolo Street at about 11 p.m. Sunday night, got angry at her and repeatedly stabbed her in the right side of her body with a kitchen knife.
While trying to stop the suspect, the woman's mother, 55, and two brothers were also stabbed, police said.
The woman, her mother and 34-year-old brother were taken to the Queen's Medical Center in stable condition.The other brother refused treatment.
Kalihi police arrested the suspect at 1:30 a.m. yesterday at his Makanani Drive home in Alewa Heights for investigations of attempted murder and three counts of second-degree assault.
Police say thief sought to sell back the goods
Police have charged a 19-year-old man in a Saturday robbery and kidnapping of two men, ages 18 and 22.Police said Isaac Ariola entered a car parked in Waikiki at about 5 a.m. and stole a cell phone, as well as other items left next to a sleeping man.
When the driver returned to his car at Kalakaua Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard, he found his cell phone and other items missing, police said. The driver then called his cell phone. Ariola agreed to sell the items back and said to pick him up.
According to police, at the meeting, Ariola indicated he had a handgun and directed the men to drive him to the 7-Eleven Store in Moiliili.
He handed the stolen bank card to the driver and demanded he go to the ATM inside the 7-Eleven and withdraw cash, police said. While inside, the driver told store employees to call police, who responded and arrested the man.
No handgun was recovered, but police said all stolen items were found where Ariola had been sitting in the car.
Ariola was charged with robbery, first-degree kidnapping and unauthorized entry of a car.
WINDWARD OAHU
Kaneohe men charged in racing rage incident
Two Kaneohe men were charged with first-degree terroristic threatening after they allegedly threatened a driver with a machete after he got in the way of their race Friday on the H-3 freeway.On Saturday, police charged Cody Fukuhara, 20, and Troy Shinsato, 23, both of Kaneohe, with first-degree terroristic threatening. Bail was set at $11,000 for each suspect.
Police said the suspects used their cars to box a 37-year-old man in his car at a stoplight, and threatened him with a machete. The man escaped, but the suspects allegedly boxed him in again at another intersection. The man again got away and called police.
Man charged in attack on former girlfriend
Police charged 43-year-old Alvin Park, of Kaneohe, Sunday with sexually assaulting a former girlfriend.Police said the 43-year-old Kaneohe woman was awakened by her ex-boyfriend about 7 p.m. Friday. Police said the woman refused his advances, and he sexually assaulted her.
The woman reported the incident the following day, and Park was arrested Sunday.
Park was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, one count of second-degree sexual assault and three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault.
Bail was set at $50,000.
NORTH SHORE
Witnesses chase down robbery suspect in car
Witnesses to a purse-snatching chased a 22-year-old man as he fled Haleiwa Beach Park in a rental car.Police said the man grabbed a 38-year-old woman's purse as she left a public bathroom in the park at 3 p.m. Sunday.
A struggle ensued, and the suspect fled in a rental car driven by another man.
Witnesses pursued the suspects' car, which crashed into a parked car. The driver fled, and the suspect was held by the witnesses.
Police arrested the man for second-degree robbery.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Police charge escapee with Hilo bank robbery
HILO >> A 32-year-old man committed a bank robbery after escaping from the Hale Nani Correctional Facility in Hilo, police said.Brian Lee Patrick was charged over the weekend with escape and second-degree robbery, police said yesterday. He was being held at the Hilo cellblock in lieu of $32,000 bail.
Patrick escaped from the correctional facility last Tuesday, police said. He is accused of robbing the Bank of Hawaii branch in Keauhou the following day, Christmas Eve.
The robber got away with an undetermined amount of cash after presenting a demand note to a teller. No weapon was seen during the robbery, and no one was injured.
Patrick was arrested Friday in Hilo.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
